Third Grade will be learning Spanish while exploring the culture of Mexico. Their central idea for the year is: There are similarities and differences between languages.
Every week the students will have a 'can do' statement that I want them to be able to do by the end of that class. We will, however continue to review and practice these in subsequent classes.
I can find Mexico on a globe or map. In addition to taking care of beginning of the year business (seating chart, review of essential agreements, etc.), we talk about the difference between Mexico and New Mexico and where both are located compared to Texas. A fun globe toss activity helps students practice finding Mexico.
I can identify Spanish/English cognates. Students learn that a cognate is a word in one language that looks and/or sounds like the same word in another language. There are also false cognates, or words that sound like they mean a certain thing in another language, but don't. They get familiar with the flag of Mexico through the use of cognates (cacto - cactus, serpiente, serpent). They play a jumping game where they had to decide if the pair of words are cognates or not. They also enjoy a human domino activity where they raced the clock to connect the Spanish-English cognates. This lesson was designed to introduce the central idea that languages can be very similar to one another which makes it easier to learn them. As much as 40% of Spanish words are cognates with their English translation.
I can use Spanish to tell location. Students again use the Mexican flag to talk about where each item on the flag is located using the words 'está en' (is in). Example sentences: El cacto está en el desierto. El desierto está en México. Etc. They learn that the word 'en' can actually be translated as 'in', 'on', or 'at', depending on the context.
After a review of the word 'habla' which means 'talks' or 'speaks'. Students show off their cognate recognition by doing a country/language pair up (Inglaterra/inglés, Rusia/ruso, etc.) They also discover that in Spanish the country is always capitalized, but the language is not.
Students act out a story about 2 kids who can't talk to each other because they speak different languages. Then a 3rd kid who speaks both languages saves the day.
I can tell about Mexican Independence.
Mexican Independence Day (Sept 16) is explained through an informative paragraph in Spanish. The paragraph is made up primarily of cognates, so students are able to feel a good measure of success at being able to decode it in spite of its complexity, and they learn about Mexican independence in the process. Students then see a video about Mexican Independence Day and another short video of El grito. Students pair/share about similarities between the way our Independence Day and Mexican Independence Day are celebrated. Finally, students complete a worksheet by filling in the blanks and coloring the Mexican flag.
I can use Spanish to tell how someone feels. Teacher uses a butterfly in a jar and a stuffed butterfly to introduce several emotions. Students learn the word and gesture for butterfly - la mariposa. Students find out that, in addition to showing location, 'está' is also used when describing emotions. (note: está is used when describing more temporary conditions.)
Está contento. He/she is happy.
Está enojado. He/she is angry.
Está triste. He/she is sad.
Está aburrido. He/she is bored.
Está sorprendido. He/she is surprised.
After practicing the pronunciations and gestures for each of the emotions, students act out a story about a bored girl who decides to spice things up by surprising each of her family members. She gets varying reactions (emotions) from each one.
Students also get to learn a mariposa hand jive! Too fun! This is a fun way to practice the word mariposa. It also connects to a very thorough website collection of songs and poems from many countries. Click on the following link to do some exploring! Mariposa hand jive
Emotions bingo is a fun way to enjoy what we've learned about telling how someone feels.
I can use Spanish to describe using color and size. Students learn or review the word 'es' which is one of the 2 Spanish words for 'is'. (note: 'es' is used when describing more permanent conditions.) Since colors and size are a common way to describe things, we review colors, as well as how to say big (grande) and small (pequeño) in Spanish. We then do a cool 'Who am I?' type activity. Each student had a picture of a butterfly (different colors and sizes) clipped on their back. They have to ask each other yes/no questions to determine the color and size of their butterfly. Then they are to find the matching butterfly posted on the wall somewhere in the classroom and go stand by it. Once everyone has found their supposed match, students take turns describing their butterfly in Spanish and the class confirms if they are right or not. Super fun!
I can use Spanish to tell what someone has. Students review or are introduced to the word 'tiene' (has) and the sign language for it. We use a cute little song about a spider having 8 legs and 8 eyes (for real!) in order to practice using the word in context. They learn this song in kinder and have reviewed it every year since.
Every week the students will have a 'can do' statement that I want them to be able to do by the end of that class. We will, however continue to review and practice these in subsequent classes.
I can find Mexico on a globe or map. In addition to taking care of beginning of the year business (seating chart, review of essential agreements, etc.), we talk about the difference between Mexico and New Mexico and where both are located compared to Texas. A fun globe toss activity helps students practice finding Mexico.
I can identify Spanish/English cognates. Students learn that a cognate is a word in one language that looks and/or sounds like the same word in another language. There are also false cognates, or words that sound like they mean a certain thing in another language, but don't. They get familiar with the flag of Mexico through the use of cognates (cacto - cactus, serpiente, serpent). They play a jumping game where they had to decide if the pair of words are cognates or not. They also enjoy a human domino activity where they raced the clock to connect the Spanish-English cognates. This lesson was designed to introduce the central idea that languages can be very similar to one another which makes it easier to learn them. As much as 40% of Spanish words are cognates with their English translation.
I can use Spanish to tell location. Students again use the Mexican flag to talk about where each item on the flag is located using the words 'está en' (is in). Example sentences: El cacto está en el desierto. El desierto está en México. Etc. They learn that the word 'en' can actually be translated as 'in', 'on', or 'at', depending on the context.
After a review of the word 'habla' which means 'talks' or 'speaks'. Students show off their cognate recognition by doing a country/language pair up (Inglaterra/inglés, Rusia/ruso, etc.) They also discover that in Spanish the country is always capitalized, but the language is not.
Students act out a story about 2 kids who can't talk to each other because they speak different languages. Then a 3rd kid who speaks both languages saves the day.
I can tell about Mexican Independence.
Mexican Independence Day (Sept 16) is explained through an informative paragraph in Spanish. The paragraph is made up primarily of cognates, so students are able to feel a good measure of success at being able to decode it in spite of its complexity, and they learn about Mexican independence in the process. Students then see a video about Mexican Independence Day and another short video of El grito. Students pair/share about similarities between the way our Independence Day and Mexican Independence Day are celebrated. Finally, students complete a worksheet by filling in the blanks and coloring the Mexican flag.
I can use Spanish to tell how someone feels. Teacher uses a butterfly in a jar and a stuffed butterfly to introduce several emotions. Students learn the word and gesture for butterfly - la mariposa. Students find out that, in addition to showing location, 'está' is also used when describing emotions. (note: está is used when describing more temporary conditions.)
Está contento. He/she is happy.
Está enojado. He/she is angry.
Está triste. He/she is sad.
Está aburrido. He/she is bored.
Está sorprendido. He/she is surprised.
After practicing the pronunciations and gestures for each of the emotions, students act out a story about a bored girl who decides to spice things up by surprising each of her family members. She gets varying reactions (emotions) from each one.
Students also get to learn a mariposa hand jive! Too fun! This is a fun way to practice the word mariposa. It also connects to a very thorough website collection of songs and poems from many countries. Click on the following link to do some exploring! Mariposa hand jive
Emotions bingo is a fun way to enjoy what we've learned about telling how someone feels.
I can use Spanish to describe using color and size. Students learn or review the word 'es' which is one of the 2 Spanish words for 'is'. (note: 'es' is used when describing more permanent conditions.) Since colors and size are a common way to describe things, we review colors, as well as how to say big (grande) and small (pequeño) in Spanish. We then do a cool 'Who am I?' type activity. Each student had a picture of a butterfly (different colors and sizes) clipped on their back. They have to ask each other yes/no questions to determine the color and size of their butterfly. Then they are to find the matching butterfly posted on the wall somewhere in the classroom and go stand by it. Once everyone has found their supposed match, students take turns describing their butterfly in Spanish and the class confirms if they are right or not. Super fun!
I can use Spanish to tell what someone has. Students review or are introduced to the word 'tiene' (has) and the sign language for it. We use a cute little song about a spider having 8 legs and 8 eyes (for real!) in order to practice using the word in context. They learn this song in kinder and have reviewed it every year since.
We transition to talking about insects and the criteria that determines if a bug is an insect or not (has 6 legs, 3 body parts, 2 antenna). We then sing a song to the tune of 'head, shoulders, knees, and toes'. Here are the words:
Cabeza, tórax, abdomen, abdomen (Head, thorax, abdomen, abdomen)
Cabeza, tórax, abdomen, abdomen (Head, thorax, abdomen, abdomen)
Ojos, patas, dos antena (eyes, legs, 2 antenna)
Cabeza, tórax, abdomen, abdomen (Head, thorax, abdomen, abdomen)
Next we enjoy an activity called '1 minute artist'. Students use white boards and draw weird bugs that the teacher describes with varying numbers of heads, eyes, legs, and antenna. Finally, students get to create their own weird bug (bicho) and draw it on a piece of paper. They must write 3 sentences telling how many of the different body parts their bug has.
Once drawings are complete, we play a matching game with the student's drawings and descriptions trying to match which go together!
Cabeza, tórax, abdomen, abdomen (Head, thorax, abdomen, abdomen)
Cabeza, tórax, abdomen, abdomen (Head, thorax, abdomen, abdomen)
Ojos, patas, dos antena (eyes, legs, 2 antenna)
Cabeza, tórax, abdomen, abdomen (Head, thorax, abdomen, abdomen)
Next we enjoy an activity called '1 minute artist'. Students use white boards and draw weird bugs that the teacher describes with varying numbers of heads, eyes, legs, and antenna. Finally, students get to create their own weird bug (bicho) and draw it on a piece of paper. They must write 3 sentences telling how many of the different body parts their bug has.
Once drawings are complete, we play a matching game with the student's drawings and descriptions trying to match which go together!
I can use Spanish to tell where someone is going. Students learned that the words 'va a' in Spanish means 'goes to' or 'is going to'. We heard an interesting rumor that years ago Chevrolet had a hard time marketing the Chevy Nova in Spanish-speaking countries. Can you figure out why? Because in Spanish, the word Nova (no va) would mean 'doesn't go'! Who wants to buy a car that doesn't go?! Hee hee.
We hear a book called En nuestra ciudad. It is a pattern book that tells places all over the city that someone goes, so the phrase 'va a' is repeated throughout.
We read a fun story about the principal going all over the school looking for a flyswatter because there was a fly in her office. She finally gets a flyswatter, but by the time she returns to her office, the fly has escaped. Here is the Spanish version of the story.
La directora está en la oficina. Hay una mosca en la oficina. La directora está frustrada. Está enojada. Ay, ay, ay. Pero no tiene matamoscas. Va a la biblioteca, pero Sra. Reeb no tiene una matamoscas. Va al gimnasio, pero Coach Berry no tiene matamoscas. Va a la clase de arte. Sra. Rayborn tiene una matamoscas. La directora va a la oficina con la matamoscas, pero la mosca ya no está en la oficina. Se escapó.
Many of the Spanish names for the places around the school are cognates or easily figured out.
la biblioteca - library
la oficina - office
el baño de los niños - boys' bathroom
el baño de las niñas - gifls' bathroom
la cafetería - cafeteria
el pasillo - hallway
la clase (el salón de clase) - classroom
el gimnasio - gym
el patio de recreo - playground
el autobús - bus
After exploring the different places and their names using a 'map' of a school, we play the matamoscas game (flyswatter game). Using a "school map" and a matamoscas (flyswatter), students must try to swat the fly in whichever place in the school the teacher says he is going. Example: La mosca va a la biblioteca. Fun game!
I can name some of the symbols for the Mexican holiday Día de los muertos. After talking briefly about symbols, we talk about the upcoming Mexican holiday called Día de los muertos. It takes place on November 1st and 2nd. It is a time for remembering and honoring those who have died. We watch a short video explaining Day of the Dead. Afterwards, students work together to list as many symbols for that holiday as they could remember from the video. Finally, students play Day of the Dead Concentration. Here are some fun sites about Day of the Dead if you would like to do some exploring on your own!
Day of the Dead Facts - a fun and informative website
Mexico's Day of the Dead - a video
Dia de Los Muertos: A Brief Overview - informative video
I can use Spanish to tell where someone is from.
Students review the 2 Spanish words for 'is' - 'está' and 'es'. These are used in different situations. An easy way to think of it is that 'es' usually has to do with something more permanent in nature, whereas 'está' is usually more temporary. For example, someone's feelings would be expressed using 'está' (Marcos está frustrado.) because feelings change often. 'Es' is used for describing something (Marcos es inteligente.) because that is more of an inherent nature and thus more enduring. Likewise, location is expressed with 'está' vs origin which is expressed using 'es'. So...the phrase 'es de' means 'is from.' Marcos es de Costa Rica.
Students engage in conversation about where the 3rd grade teachers and various animals and are from. After practice using 'es de', we enjoy a really cool activity that had us coming up with a new species of animal. Everyone in the room gets 2 picture halves of an animal - the head and the tail. They are given one minute to trade halves with other students around the room until the timer dings. At that point, they have a new species of animal. They decide where their new species is from (es de) and tell each other in Spanish. This is super fun! Next, they get to draw their new species on a piece of paper and color it. They also write in complete sentences telling the name and origin of it.
I can tell about the monarch butterfly migration.
Students engage in conversation about different animals that migrate, including the monarch butterfly. The monarch is from (es de) Canada and the northern United States. They migrate to Michoacán, Mexico every year when the weather gets cold. An interesting connection is that the butterflies arrive in Mexico about the same time that the Day of the Dead is being celebrated. For that reason, many people believe that the butterflies are the spirits of their deceased loved ones coming back to visit. Here is a segment of a sweet book related to this is Uncle Monarch and the Day of the Dead by Judy Goldman. The students also enjoy watching a breathtakingly beautiful 6 minute documentary clip about the butterfly migration. Click on the link to hear the Butterfly Monarch Song by Lucas Miller.
I can use Spanish to tell what the weather is doing.
In preparation for learning a song about the weather, students review the days of the week in Spanish, since they are in the song, as well. Students are reminded how the days of the week are related to some of the heavely bodies. Here is an excellent explanation of that! Students then learn how to say a variety of weather conditions and then we sang a song to practice them. Check out this powerpoint to practice the weather phrases and see the words to the song ¿Qué tiempo hace hoy? (What's the weather doing today?) We practice the different weather phrases through several activities, like a find-your-partner game where they try to match the picture of the weather event with the phrase. Students also get to act out a story about a famous doctor who goes to hospitals all over the world (where there are a variety of weather conditions) only to return home sick and need a doctor himself! Here is the story and its translation:
Doctor González es de Austin y es famoso. Va a un hospital en Canadá. En Canadá hace mucho frío. Va a un hospital en México. En México hace mucho calor. Va a un hospital en Londres y está lloviendo. El doctor regresa a Austin y está enfermo. Pobre Doctor González.
Dr. Gonzalez is from Austin and he is famous. He goes to a hospital in Canada. In Canada, it's very cold. He goes to a hospital in Mexico. In Mexico, it's very hot. He goes to a hospital in London, and it is raining. The doctor returns home to Austin, and he is sick. Poor Doctor Gonzalez.
Here is a video of Sesame Street song about hot weather called Hace calor. It is a fun one!
I can use Spanish to tell what I like and don't like.
An obvious way to learn and practice this skill is by talking about food! So students review (from 2nd) a list of common foods through a fun and active chant. The foods in the chant are:
la leche - milk
el agua - water
el cereal con frutas - cereal with fruit
el pollo - chicken
los huevos - eggs
la pimienta - pepper
la sal - salt
la carne - meat
el queso - cheese
el pan tostado - toast
la sopa - soup
las galletas - cookies or crackers
las papas - potatoes
el arroz - rice
They also review a list of fruits they learned in 2nd grade. Here they are:
las manzanas - apples
las peras - pears
las fresas - strawberries
el limón - lemon
las naranjas - oranges
los plátanos
la uvas - grapes
el melón
Of course, many foods in Spanish are cognates and easily recognized. Can you tell what these foods are?
el mango, el kiwi, el sándwich, el yogur, la pizza, el chocolate, el chile, la limonada, el café, el tomate, el té, el brócoli,
el coliflor, el coco, la hamburguesa, la mandarina, la ensalada, los vegetales, el jugo
Students realize that they can come up with an even wider variety of foods by combining those foods they already know. Sopa de queso = cheese soup sopa de tomate = tomato soup sopa de pollo = chicken soup
leche de chocolate = chocolate milk ensalada de frutas = fruit salad pastel de fresa = strawberry cake
jugo de uva = grape juice
The phrases we are trying to internalize are
Me gusta. I like it.
Me gusta la pizza. I like pizza. (replace italicized word with anything)
Me gusta mucho. I like it a lot.
No me gusta. I don't like it.
No me gustan los vegetales. I don't like vegetables. (replace italicized word with anything)
No me gusta nada. I don't like it at all.
I can use Spanish to tell what someone wants to eat.
We learn/review a little song to help us practice saying what someone 'wants to eat'. The cool thing about this is that we are using a verb phrase 'quiere comer' and 'comer' is an infinitive! Students learn that the infinitive of a verb is typically translated as 'to ____'. So 'come' means 'eats', but 'comer' means 'to eat'. Here are the words to the song!
¿Qué quiere comer? What does he want to eat?
¿Qué quiere comer? What does she want to eat?
Quiere comer. He wants to eat... una pizza, una pizza!
I can use Spanish to say that someone makes or does something.
Students learn that the word 'hace' (pronounced ah say) is not only used in many of the weather statements, but is used to say someone 'makes' or 'does' something. To practice this, we act out a story about a boy who makes a sandwich...several, actually! Here is a powerpoint of the story called El sandwich.
To prepare for the story, we review several vocabulary structures that students have encountered before:
corre - runs
hace - makes, does
come - eats
tiene hambre - is hungry
va a - goes to
regresa - returns or goes back
está enojado - is angry
está sorprendido - is surprised
está triste - is sad
Students act out the story, illustrate the story, get in small groups to practice telling a shortened version of the story.
I can count to 9 in Spanish.
Most Spicewood students can count to 10 with ease, but do they really know the numbers? We really know them when we can say them out of order with speed and confidence. Students practice using 10-sided dice, number strips and engaging in partner challenges.
Some students struggle with the vowel sounds we see in the numbers seis (6) and siete (7). The 'ei' combination and the 'ie' combination have different phonetic sounds and come up in many Spanish words, so it is important to know and pronounce them correctly. The 'e' sound is pronounced like the 'e' in 'egg'. It has an 'eh' sound. The letter 'i' sounds like the long 'e' in English (ee). So, the word 'seis' rhymes with our word 'face'. We like to say 'Seis has a face.' And we draw a little face inside the circle of the number 6. The word 'siete' sounds more like 'see yet eh'.
I can count to 19 in Spanish.
Spanish numbers are a lot like English numbers, in that they follow a pattern. Once you know the numbers from 1-9, and you learn the 10's, you can put them together to make the rest of the numbers all the way to 100...that is, all of them except for the numbers 11-15. These do not follow the pattern. They are words that must be learned separately. English numbers 11-15 (except for 14) are like this, too. We don't say two-teen. We say twelve. Here are the numbers from 11-19. You can see that starting with 16, there is as pattern.
once (pronounced ohn-seh) - 11
doce (doh seh) - 12
trece (treh seh) - 13
catorce (cah tor seh) - 14
quince (keen seh) - 15
diez y seis - 16 (an alternate spelling is dieciséis)
diez y siete - 17 (diecisiete)
diez y ocho - 18 (dieciocho)
diez y nueve - 19 (diecinueve)
I can count by 10's to 100 in Spanish.
Because Spanish numbers follow patterns similar to English numbers, we really only need to learn the names of 24 numbers, and then we will be able to count all the way to 100. These are the numbers 0-15 and the 10's. We notice right away that many of the 10's are similar to the corresponding 1's. This should make it a little easier. Some of the games and activities we use to practice counting by 10's and recognizing them out of order involve dimes. We can line up 10 dice and use them to practice counting by 10's, then partner up for some fun. 1 person can hide their eyes, while the other removes 1 or more dice. The other person must tell how much money is left. 10-sided dice can be used in several ways. Students can roll and race each other to say the number on the dice multiplied by 10. If they roll a 3, they would say 30 (treinta). They can take turns rolling and one person can say the the number shown (ocho) and the other can say the corresponding 10's (ochenta). One person can roll, keeping the die hidden from their partner, and say the number rolled times 10. The partner can translate to English and then the dice is revealed to see if they were both right. Also, here is a fun song to practice counting by 10's.
We hear a book called En nuestra ciudad. It is a pattern book that tells places all over the city that someone goes, so the phrase 'va a' is repeated throughout.
We read a fun story about the principal going all over the school looking for a flyswatter because there was a fly in her office. She finally gets a flyswatter, but by the time she returns to her office, the fly has escaped. Here is the Spanish version of the story.
La directora está en la oficina. Hay una mosca en la oficina. La directora está frustrada. Está enojada. Ay, ay, ay. Pero no tiene matamoscas. Va a la biblioteca, pero Sra. Reeb no tiene una matamoscas. Va al gimnasio, pero Coach Berry no tiene matamoscas. Va a la clase de arte. Sra. Rayborn tiene una matamoscas. La directora va a la oficina con la matamoscas, pero la mosca ya no está en la oficina. Se escapó.
Many of the Spanish names for the places around the school are cognates or easily figured out.
la biblioteca - library
la oficina - office
el baño de los niños - boys' bathroom
el baño de las niñas - gifls' bathroom
la cafetería - cafeteria
el pasillo - hallway
la clase (el salón de clase) - classroom
el gimnasio - gym
el patio de recreo - playground
el autobús - bus
After exploring the different places and their names using a 'map' of a school, we play the matamoscas game (flyswatter game). Using a "school map" and a matamoscas (flyswatter), students must try to swat the fly in whichever place in the school the teacher says he is going. Example: La mosca va a la biblioteca. Fun game!
I can name some of the symbols for the Mexican holiday Día de los muertos. After talking briefly about symbols, we talk about the upcoming Mexican holiday called Día de los muertos. It takes place on November 1st and 2nd. It is a time for remembering and honoring those who have died. We watch a short video explaining Day of the Dead. Afterwards, students work together to list as many symbols for that holiday as they could remember from the video. Finally, students play Day of the Dead Concentration. Here are some fun sites about Day of the Dead if you would like to do some exploring on your own!
Day of the Dead Facts - a fun and informative website
Mexico's Day of the Dead - a video
Dia de Los Muertos: A Brief Overview - informative video
I can use Spanish to tell where someone is from.
Students review the 2 Spanish words for 'is' - 'está' and 'es'. These are used in different situations. An easy way to think of it is that 'es' usually has to do with something more permanent in nature, whereas 'está' is usually more temporary. For example, someone's feelings would be expressed using 'está' (Marcos está frustrado.) because feelings change often. 'Es' is used for describing something (Marcos es inteligente.) because that is more of an inherent nature and thus more enduring. Likewise, location is expressed with 'está' vs origin which is expressed using 'es'. So...the phrase 'es de' means 'is from.' Marcos es de Costa Rica.
Students engage in conversation about where the 3rd grade teachers and various animals and are from. After practice using 'es de', we enjoy a really cool activity that had us coming up with a new species of animal. Everyone in the room gets 2 picture halves of an animal - the head and the tail. They are given one minute to trade halves with other students around the room until the timer dings. At that point, they have a new species of animal. They decide where their new species is from (es de) and tell each other in Spanish. This is super fun! Next, they get to draw their new species on a piece of paper and color it. They also write in complete sentences telling the name and origin of it.
I can tell about the monarch butterfly migration.
Students engage in conversation about different animals that migrate, including the monarch butterfly. The monarch is from (es de) Canada and the northern United States. They migrate to Michoacán, Mexico every year when the weather gets cold. An interesting connection is that the butterflies arrive in Mexico about the same time that the Day of the Dead is being celebrated. For that reason, many people believe that the butterflies are the spirits of their deceased loved ones coming back to visit. Here is a segment of a sweet book related to this is Uncle Monarch and the Day of the Dead by Judy Goldman. The students also enjoy watching a breathtakingly beautiful 6 minute documentary clip about the butterfly migration. Click on the link to hear the Butterfly Monarch Song by Lucas Miller.
I can use Spanish to tell what the weather is doing.
In preparation for learning a song about the weather, students review the days of the week in Spanish, since they are in the song, as well. Students are reminded how the days of the week are related to some of the heavely bodies. Here is an excellent explanation of that! Students then learn how to say a variety of weather conditions and then we sang a song to practice them. Check out this powerpoint to practice the weather phrases and see the words to the song ¿Qué tiempo hace hoy? (What's the weather doing today?) We practice the different weather phrases through several activities, like a find-your-partner game where they try to match the picture of the weather event with the phrase. Students also get to act out a story about a famous doctor who goes to hospitals all over the world (where there are a variety of weather conditions) only to return home sick and need a doctor himself! Here is the story and its translation:
Doctor González es de Austin y es famoso. Va a un hospital en Canadá. En Canadá hace mucho frío. Va a un hospital en México. En México hace mucho calor. Va a un hospital en Londres y está lloviendo. El doctor regresa a Austin y está enfermo. Pobre Doctor González.
Dr. Gonzalez is from Austin and he is famous. He goes to a hospital in Canada. In Canada, it's very cold. He goes to a hospital in Mexico. In Mexico, it's very hot. He goes to a hospital in London, and it is raining. The doctor returns home to Austin, and he is sick. Poor Doctor Gonzalez.
Here is a video of Sesame Street song about hot weather called Hace calor. It is a fun one!
I can use Spanish to tell what I like and don't like.
An obvious way to learn and practice this skill is by talking about food! So students review (from 2nd) a list of common foods through a fun and active chant. The foods in the chant are:
la leche - milk
el agua - water
el cereal con frutas - cereal with fruit
el pollo - chicken
los huevos - eggs
la pimienta - pepper
la sal - salt
la carne - meat
el queso - cheese
el pan tostado - toast
la sopa - soup
las galletas - cookies or crackers
las papas - potatoes
el arroz - rice
They also review a list of fruits they learned in 2nd grade. Here they are:
las manzanas - apples
las peras - pears
las fresas - strawberries
el limón - lemon
las naranjas - oranges
los plátanos
la uvas - grapes
el melón
Of course, many foods in Spanish are cognates and easily recognized. Can you tell what these foods are?
el mango, el kiwi, el sándwich, el yogur, la pizza, el chocolate, el chile, la limonada, el café, el tomate, el té, el brócoli,
el coliflor, el coco, la hamburguesa, la mandarina, la ensalada, los vegetales, el jugo
Students realize that they can come up with an even wider variety of foods by combining those foods they already know. Sopa de queso = cheese soup sopa de tomate = tomato soup sopa de pollo = chicken soup
leche de chocolate = chocolate milk ensalada de frutas = fruit salad pastel de fresa = strawberry cake
jugo de uva = grape juice
The phrases we are trying to internalize are
Me gusta. I like it.
Me gusta la pizza. I like pizza. (replace italicized word with anything)
Me gusta mucho. I like it a lot.
No me gusta. I don't like it.
No me gustan los vegetales. I don't like vegetables. (replace italicized word with anything)
No me gusta nada. I don't like it at all.
I can use Spanish to tell what someone wants to eat.
We learn/review a little song to help us practice saying what someone 'wants to eat'. The cool thing about this is that we are using a verb phrase 'quiere comer' and 'comer' is an infinitive! Students learn that the infinitive of a verb is typically translated as 'to ____'. So 'come' means 'eats', but 'comer' means 'to eat'. Here are the words to the song!
¿Qué quiere comer? What does he want to eat?
¿Qué quiere comer? What does she want to eat?
Quiere comer. He wants to eat... una pizza, una pizza!
I can use Spanish to say that someone makes or does something.
Students learn that the word 'hace' (pronounced ah say) is not only used in many of the weather statements, but is used to say someone 'makes' or 'does' something. To practice this, we act out a story about a boy who makes a sandwich...several, actually! Here is a powerpoint of the story called El sandwich.
To prepare for the story, we review several vocabulary structures that students have encountered before:
corre - runs
hace - makes, does
come - eats
tiene hambre - is hungry
va a - goes to
regresa - returns or goes back
está enojado - is angry
está sorprendido - is surprised
está triste - is sad
Students act out the story, illustrate the story, get in small groups to practice telling a shortened version of the story.
I can count to 9 in Spanish.
Most Spicewood students can count to 10 with ease, but do they really know the numbers? We really know them when we can say them out of order with speed and confidence. Students practice using 10-sided dice, number strips and engaging in partner challenges.
Some students struggle with the vowel sounds we see in the numbers seis (6) and siete (7). The 'ei' combination and the 'ie' combination have different phonetic sounds and come up in many Spanish words, so it is important to know and pronounce them correctly. The 'e' sound is pronounced like the 'e' in 'egg'. It has an 'eh' sound. The letter 'i' sounds like the long 'e' in English (ee). So, the word 'seis' rhymes with our word 'face'. We like to say 'Seis has a face.' And we draw a little face inside the circle of the number 6. The word 'siete' sounds more like 'see yet eh'.
I can count to 19 in Spanish.
Spanish numbers are a lot like English numbers, in that they follow a pattern. Once you know the numbers from 1-9, and you learn the 10's, you can put them together to make the rest of the numbers all the way to 100...that is, all of them except for the numbers 11-15. These do not follow the pattern. They are words that must be learned separately. English numbers 11-15 (except for 14) are like this, too. We don't say two-teen. We say twelve. Here are the numbers from 11-19. You can see that starting with 16, there is as pattern.
once (pronounced ohn-seh) - 11
doce (doh seh) - 12
trece (treh seh) - 13
catorce (cah tor seh) - 14
quince (keen seh) - 15
diez y seis - 16 (an alternate spelling is dieciséis)
diez y siete - 17 (diecisiete)
diez y ocho - 18 (dieciocho)
diez y nueve - 19 (diecinueve)
I can count by 10's to 100 in Spanish.
Because Spanish numbers follow patterns similar to English numbers, we really only need to learn the names of 24 numbers, and then we will be able to count all the way to 100. These are the numbers 0-15 and the 10's. We notice right away that many of the 10's are similar to the corresponding 1's. This should make it a little easier. Some of the games and activities we use to practice counting by 10's and recognizing them out of order involve dimes. We can line up 10 dice and use them to practice counting by 10's, then partner up for some fun. 1 person can hide their eyes, while the other removes 1 or more dice. The other person must tell how much money is left. 10-sided dice can be used in several ways. Students can roll and race each other to say the number on the dice multiplied by 10. If they roll a 3, they would say 30 (treinta). They can take turns rolling and one person can say the the number shown (ocho) and the other can say the corresponding 10's (ochenta). One person can roll, keeping the die hidden from their partner, and say the number rolled times 10. The partner can translate to English and then the dice is revealed to see if they were both right. Also, here is a fun song to practice counting by 10's.
As we practice the numbers from 1-100, it is a good time to stop and have a more in depth phonics lesson. Many of the numbers have one of these letter combinations: 'ie' or 'ei', which we briefly explained earlier. These letters do not sound the same. Perhaps a quick look at the Spanish vowels would be helpful. In Spanish, unlike in English, each vowel has only one sound! Not only that...it says it's name. This makes Spanish pronunciation much easier than English. Here are the 5 vowels and their sound:
a sounds like 'ah' (as the 'a' in father)
o sounds like 'oh' (like the 'o' in tone)
e sounds like 'eh' (think egg or elephant)
i sounds like 'ee' (like the first 'e' in Pete or the 'i' in pizza) note: there is no silent 'e' in Spanish
u sounds like 'oo' (like in the word 'cool')
So, the combination 'ie' is like the beginning of our word 'yes'. It sound like 'ee-eh'. Here are some numbers with that letter combination:
siete (7) - see-yet-eh
diez (10) - dee-yes
cien (100) - see-yen
The combination 'ei' sounds more like the 'ay' our word 'day'. eh-ee
seis (6) - sayce. This is sooo often misprounounced! Just remember that it rhymes with 'face'.
veinte (20) vain-teh
treinta (30) train-tah
I can count to 100 in Spanish.
For the numbers 16-99, Spanish numbers follow a very similar pattern to English numbers. For example, the number 37 is made by combining the numbers 30 & 7. In Spanish, they do the same but they put the word 'and' in between so that it is 30 and 7. Treinta y siete. Students are encouraged to use every opportunity to practice at home and out in the community anywhere they see numbers! In addition, here are some fun websites to practice on your own.
After some practice, we play a little game using a 100's chart. 2 people would sit with the chart between them and race to see who could be the first to point to the number the teacher says. This is a good way to allow our ear to acclimate to the Spanish language and to get faster at discerning the meaning of what we hear.
We then play a little guessing game called 'Más o menos'. One person is in charge and secretly chooses a number between 1 and 100. The rest of the class uses Spanish to try and guess the number. The person in charge responds with either 'más' (more) or 'menos' (less) to indicate if their number is greater or less than the number guess. The person who finally guesses the number correctly gets to be in charge for the next round.
There are so many online sites to learn and practice numbers in Spanish. Here are just a few:
Free Game to Learn Numbers
Game to Practice Spanish Numbers
Spanish Numbers Games and Activities
I can explain the significance of the monarch butterfly migration to the people of Michoacán, Mexico.
A study of the life of the monarch butterfly is so interesting and surprising. Most monarchs live from 2-6 weeks. However, every 4th or 5th generation lives up to 9 months, and it is this generation that makes the 2000 mile journey south to their hibernation destination in the mountains of Michoacán, Mexico. We watch an interesting little video segment that tells about the migration. The video also explains that the 'ecotourism' resulting from the butterly migration plays an important part in the economy of the people living in Michoacán.
I can create something based on my perception of beauty.
In the 3rd grade How We Express Ourselves unit of inquiry, students encounter such concepts as subjectivity and perspective, as well as the learner profiles of respect and creativity. Beauty is subjective and a matter of each individual's unique perspective. It is caring and respectful to remember this as we react and respond to others' creative efforts. After hearing and reflecting on the book The Woman Who Outshone the Sun, students are invited to create their own beautiful butterfly out of a variety of materials. These will be used in an activity that follows.
I can use Spanish to bargain.
Today, we learn that you can ask how much something costs by saying "¿Cuánto cuesta? To see this in context, we read a story about a boy who is in Mexico for the butterfly migration and wants to buy a souvenir. Here is the story.
Unlike the USA, people in Mexico expect to barter for goods when they go to market. As a fun way to practice the numbers and to practice bartering at the same time, we partner up and bargain for items, including the beautiful butterflies they made. What fun! Next time you take a vacation, see if your student can use their Spanish and help you save some money on souvenirs! Here are some of the very simplified bargaining phrases that they can use:
¿Cuánto cuesta? How much does it cost?
Cuesta mucho. It costs a lot.
No tengo _______. I don't have ______.
No puedo. I can't pay that.
¿A _____? Will you come down to ______?
un robo - like saying "that's highway robbery!"
una ganga - What a bargain!
I can use what I've learned in Spanish to write a story.
Students write a story that will become their portfolio piece. The story is evidence of all that each student has been learning this year in Spanish. Stories must be written in complete sentences beginning with capital letters and ending with a period. Students are encouraged not to stress out about spelling. They can just sound out the words and do their best. The spelling will come as they learn more and more, but communication is our primary goal. It is also important that they use only words we have learned or cognates. This way they are truly demonstrating what they have already learned and their classmates can read and understand their stories without difficulty. Illustrating the story is the last step. Once students finish their story, they partner up to read each other's stories and help to catch any mistakes that slipped through. Please take the time to commend your student on the incredible amount of learning they have accomplished this year. They have worked so hard and we are very proud of them.
I can demonstrate understanding of Benito Juarez' importance to Mexico and Cinco de mayo.
This lesson supports the 3rd grade Where We Are in Place and Time unit of inquiry with the central idea People past and present make a difference. Students first hear about the life of Benito Juarez through a book called Viva, México! A Story of Benito Juarez and Cinco de mayo by Argentina Palacios. Students have fun showing how well they were listening by working together to sequence the events from Juarez' life.
We also talk about the holiday Cinco de mayo and why it is celebrated. It is often mistakenly assumed to be Mexico's independence day. Rather, it is a day set aside to celebrate the Mexican victory over the French in the battle of Puebla. The Mexicans were outnumbered, under trained and lacking in the sophisticated weaponry of the powerful French army, but united and determined, they prevailed anyway. The French went on to win the war, but the triumph of the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862 continues to be a matter of national pride and a reason to unite once again each year to relive and celebrate the victory.
The following lessons may or may not be taught each year, depending on how quickly we were able to move through all the above lessons.
I can name my school supplies in Spanish.
Students are introduced to the various school supplies through acting out a story of a boy who seems to have every school supply imaginable except for the one he really needs at the moment...a pencil.
Here are the school supplies we focus on, as well as their translations. You can probably tell that several are cognates. There are silly clues we use to remember the others.
el lápiz - pencil
el marcador - marker
el crayón, la crayola
el papel - paper
el libro - book
la mochila - backpack
la regla - ruler
el pegamento - glue, paste
las tijeras - scissors
To practice our listening skills, we played a backpack game. 2 students sit back-to-back, each with an opened backpack in front of them filled with the various school supplies we were just introduced to. As the teacher calls out an item, students race to see who can be the first to find the item called and raise it into the air.
Students hear a silly rap about the school supplies and are challenged to work together to come up with a better one to share with the class.
I can use Spanish to tell what my school supplies are used for.
Students review the school supplies by acting out a story about a girl who is such an eager student that she packs her backpack too full and it is too heavy to carry. This is followed up with another song video by Patti Lozano called La mochila.
Next, we are introduced to several verbs that are typical things we do with our school supplies. Here they are:
escribe - write
lee - read
mide - measure
corta - cut
pega - glue
colorea - color
usa - use
dobla - fold
Students are challenged to follow the teacher's directions and do various things using their school supplies.
Finally, to put to use all that they've been learning, students get to follow instructions to make either a Mother's Day card or papel picado (cut paper banners) depending on the time of year.
I can write a familiar story in Spanish.
Students hear and act out an easy story in Spanish. Afterwards, they get to practice retelling the story in a variety of ways and then are challenged to write the story. It is a timed writing, but spelling is not important. Writing is an important part of learning a language, and by engaging in timed writings on a regular basis, students are able to keep track of their progress. Students are not compared to each other. They are encouraged to celebrate their own personal growth as evidenced by their improved writings.
I can use Spanish to write my own version of a familiar story by changing the details.
Students use the same story skeleton that we just acted out and did the timed writing over, but they change people, places, objects, adjectives, etc. to create their own unique version of the story. When all have finished, students enjoy sharing their stories with each other. Finally, we bind all the stories together to create a class anthology for them to take back with them to add to their class library.
a sounds like 'ah' (as the 'a' in father)
o sounds like 'oh' (like the 'o' in tone)
e sounds like 'eh' (think egg or elephant)
i sounds like 'ee' (like the first 'e' in Pete or the 'i' in pizza) note: there is no silent 'e' in Spanish
u sounds like 'oo' (like in the word 'cool')
So, the combination 'ie' is like the beginning of our word 'yes'. It sound like 'ee-eh'. Here are some numbers with that letter combination:
siete (7) - see-yet-eh
diez (10) - dee-yes
cien (100) - see-yen
The combination 'ei' sounds more like the 'ay' our word 'day'. eh-ee
seis (6) - sayce. This is sooo often misprounounced! Just remember that it rhymes with 'face'.
veinte (20) vain-teh
treinta (30) train-tah
I can count to 100 in Spanish.
For the numbers 16-99, Spanish numbers follow a very similar pattern to English numbers. For example, the number 37 is made by combining the numbers 30 & 7. In Spanish, they do the same but they put the word 'and' in between so that it is 30 and 7. Treinta y siete. Students are encouraged to use every opportunity to practice at home and out in the community anywhere they see numbers! In addition, here are some fun websites to practice on your own.
After some practice, we play a little game using a 100's chart. 2 people would sit with the chart between them and race to see who could be the first to point to the number the teacher says. This is a good way to allow our ear to acclimate to the Spanish language and to get faster at discerning the meaning of what we hear.
We then play a little guessing game called 'Más o menos'. One person is in charge and secretly chooses a number between 1 and 100. The rest of the class uses Spanish to try and guess the number. The person in charge responds with either 'más' (more) or 'menos' (less) to indicate if their number is greater or less than the number guess. The person who finally guesses the number correctly gets to be in charge for the next round.
There are so many online sites to learn and practice numbers in Spanish. Here are just a few:
Free Game to Learn Numbers
Game to Practice Spanish Numbers
Spanish Numbers Games and Activities
I can explain the significance of the monarch butterfly migration to the people of Michoacán, Mexico.
A study of the life of the monarch butterfly is so interesting and surprising. Most monarchs live from 2-6 weeks. However, every 4th or 5th generation lives up to 9 months, and it is this generation that makes the 2000 mile journey south to their hibernation destination in the mountains of Michoacán, Mexico. We watch an interesting little video segment that tells about the migration. The video also explains that the 'ecotourism' resulting from the butterly migration plays an important part in the economy of the people living in Michoacán.
I can create something based on my perception of beauty.
In the 3rd grade How We Express Ourselves unit of inquiry, students encounter such concepts as subjectivity and perspective, as well as the learner profiles of respect and creativity. Beauty is subjective and a matter of each individual's unique perspective. It is caring and respectful to remember this as we react and respond to others' creative efforts. After hearing and reflecting on the book The Woman Who Outshone the Sun, students are invited to create their own beautiful butterfly out of a variety of materials. These will be used in an activity that follows.
I can use Spanish to bargain.
Today, we learn that you can ask how much something costs by saying "¿Cuánto cuesta? To see this in context, we read a story about a boy who is in Mexico for the butterfly migration and wants to buy a souvenir. Here is the story.
Unlike the USA, people in Mexico expect to barter for goods when they go to market. As a fun way to practice the numbers and to practice bartering at the same time, we partner up and bargain for items, including the beautiful butterflies they made. What fun! Next time you take a vacation, see if your student can use their Spanish and help you save some money on souvenirs! Here are some of the very simplified bargaining phrases that they can use:
¿Cuánto cuesta? How much does it cost?
Cuesta mucho. It costs a lot.
No tengo _______. I don't have ______.
No puedo. I can't pay that.
¿A _____? Will you come down to ______?
un robo - like saying "that's highway robbery!"
una ganga - What a bargain!
I can use what I've learned in Spanish to write a story.
Students write a story that will become their portfolio piece. The story is evidence of all that each student has been learning this year in Spanish. Stories must be written in complete sentences beginning with capital letters and ending with a period. Students are encouraged not to stress out about spelling. They can just sound out the words and do their best. The spelling will come as they learn more and more, but communication is our primary goal. It is also important that they use only words we have learned or cognates. This way they are truly demonstrating what they have already learned and their classmates can read and understand their stories without difficulty. Illustrating the story is the last step. Once students finish their story, they partner up to read each other's stories and help to catch any mistakes that slipped through. Please take the time to commend your student on the incredible amount of learning they have accomplished this year. They have worked so hard and we are very proud of them.
I can demonstrate understanding of Benito Juarez' importance to Mexico and Cinco de mayo.
This lesson supports the 3rd grade Where We Are in Place and Time unit of inquiry with the central idea People past and present make a difference. Students first hear about the life of Benito Juarez through a book called Viva, México! A Story of Benito Juarez and Cinco de mayo by Argentina Palacios. Students have fun showing how well they were listening by working together to sequence the events from Juarez' life.
We also talk about the holiday Cinco de mayo and why it is celebrated. It is often mistakenly assumed to be Mexico's independence day. Rather, it is a day set aside to celebrate the Mexican victory over the French in the battle of Puebla. The Mexicans were outnumbered, under trained and lacking in the sophisticated weaponry of the powerful French army, but united and determined, they prevailed anyway. The French went on to win the war, but the triumph of the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862 continues to be a matter of national pride and a reason to unite once again each year to relive and celebrate the victory.
The following lessons may or may not be taught each year, depending on how quickly we were able to move through all the above lessons.
I can name my school supplies in Spanish.
Students are introduced to the various school supplies through acting out a story of a boy who seems to have every school supply imaginable except for the one he really needs at the moment...a pencil.
Here are the school supplies we focus on, as well as their translations. You can probably tell that several are cognates. There are silly clues we use to remember the others.
el lápiz - pencil
el marcador - marker
el crayón, la crayola
el papel - paper
el libro - book
la mochila - backpack
la regla - ruler
el pegamento - glue, paste
las tijeras - scissors
To practice our listening skills, we played a backpack game. 2 students sit back-to-back, each with an opened backpack in front of them filled with the various school supplies we were just introduced to. As the teacher calls out an item, students race to see who can be the first to find the item called and raise it into the air.
Students hear a silly rap about the school supplies and are challenged to work together to come up with a better one to share with the class.
I can use Spanish to tell what my school supplies are used for.
Students review the school supplies by acting out a story about a girl who is such an eager student that she packs her backpack too full and it is too heavy to carry. This is followed up with another song video by Patti Lozano called La mochila.
Next, we are introduced to several verbs that are typical things we do with our school supplies. Here they are:
escribe - write
lee - read
mide - measure
corta - cut
pega - glue
colorea - color
usa - use
dobla - fold
Students are challenged to follow the teacher's directions and do various things using their school supplies.
Finally, to put to use all that they've been learning, students get to follow instructions to make either a Mother's Day card or papel picado (cut paper banners) depending on the time of year.
I can write a familiar story in Spanish.
Students hear and act out an easy story in Spanish. Afterwards, they get to practice retelling the story in a variety of ways and then are challenged to write the story. It is a timed writing, but spelling is not important. Writing is an important part of learning a language, and by engaging in timed writings on a regular basis, students are able to keep track of their progress. Students are not compared to each other. They are encouraged to celebrate their own personal growth as evidenced by their improved writings.
I can use Spanish to write my own version of a familiar story by changing the details.
Students use the same story skeleton that we just acted out and did the timed writing over, but they change people, places, objects, adjectives, etc. to create their own unique version of the story. When all have finished, students enjoy sharing their stories with each other. Finally, we bind all the stories together to create a class anthology for them to take back with them to add to their class library.